He has snuggled with wild bear cubs in Western Massachusetts, banded screaming bald eagle chicks in their nests at Quabbin Reservoir, and thrown wriggling salmon and trout into the waters of Jamaica Pond.
But turtles? Forget about it.
Governor Deval Patrick, an inveterate nature lover who rarely misses an opportunity to showcase the state's rich and varied wildlife, was nowhere in sight yesterday when state wildlife officials released 138 endangered turtles known as Northern red-bellied cooters into two ponds in Middleborough.
Inquiring herpetologists want to know: Was he indifferent to the plight of the cooters, colorful, foot-long creatures that have seen their lakeside habitats in Southeastern Massachusetts ravaged by development, scavenging pets, pollution, and pesticides?
"You could go so far as to say it's a sign of the times," said Phil Kyle, a naturalist at the Green Briar Nature Center in Sandwich. "Where are people's values?" Kyle raised six of the cooters released yesterday, feeding them scraps of red-leaf lettuce since September.
Patrick's aides said the governor intended no disrespect. While the turtles were being released, the governor was in Auburn announcing that a new rechargeable battery plant is expected to create 600 jobs. The governor loves showing off wildlife, aides said, but he can be in only so many places.
"The governor didn't have a lot of time on his schedule," said Kyle Sullivan, Patrick's spokesman. "And, as we all know, turtles can be a little slow."
